Recommended for anyone looking for a flavour of the older Boracay before it developed into a more tourist-y focused Asian resort. Situated just to the back of Station 3, Melinda's is a selection of authentic Filipino nipa cottages set in a delightful tropical garden. Each cottage has its own verandah and hammock where you can relax after a hard day sipping the San Miguel beers on the famous White Beach. Run by the very hospitable German, Horst - one of the original Boracay adventurers of the 1980s - this is an ideal spot to find a little peace in an increasingly busy tourist environment. Very reasonable prices, too.

www.melindasgarden.com/
Station 3, Boracay, Malay 5806, Aklan
+63 36 2883021
Google map: bit.ly/uYX4vk

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A stunning cave set high in the mountains of Luzon, Sumaguing boasts beautiful limestone formations, deep, clear pools and the feeling that you're the first visitor to have stumbled into its depths in a long time.

Sumaguing Cave, Sagada, Luzon, the Philippines. Approximately six hours by bus from Baguio City.
Google map: bit.ly/nPKP0B

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A tropical paradise that's more convenient than Boracay and better conserved too

samalbahaykubo.wordpress.com/
Google map: bit.ly/dkuEGr

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Samal Island is about the same size as Hong Kong island, but tropical, beautiful, unspoilt and just minutes from an international airport and major city.

samalbahaykubo.wordpress.com/
Google map: tinyurl.com/36kbjtm

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Melinda's Garden, Boracay Island. Take yourself to this exclusive island paradise with great restaurants serving everything from Mexican to Korean cuisine, varied nightlife and the stunning mile-stretch of pristine white beach. Melinda's Garden is an upscale cluster of local-style Nipa huts tucked behind the public path that runs alongside the beach. Marble bathrooms, your own private veranda and hammock, set in a mini oasis of a lush filipino garden - you cannot get much more for £10 a night. The sound of the waves and rustling palms will lull you into the most relaxed calm you've felt in years. A steal compared with the over-priced resorts next door. Highly recommended.

Melind'a Garden, South end of White Beach, Boracay Island, Phillippines.
www.melindasgarden.com/

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Dapitan Beach Resort Hotel (aka Pavilion Hotel) is owned and run by the local municipal government, who built it maybe 20 years ago from the proceeds of a gigantic US$ loan to promote tourism.

Since opening, the hotel has received next to no maintenance or further investment, but the air-con rooms are all huge and still luxurious - if you overlook the cracked bathroom fittings and the crumbling plasterwork everywhere.

The setting, on Dapitan's Sunset Boulevard, is spectacular, facing a huge 5 mile long white sand beach, with the South China Sea stretching in front of you; it feels like you've reached the end of the world (which you have, in a way...)

Grand luxury and elegance - at Php 1,650 per night (about £17) it's an unmissable bargain. Get there by overnight ferry from Cebu, Negros or Manila to the nearby Dapitan/Dipolog pier, or by plane to Diploog airport. Local motor tricycles will take you the last km or two for Php50 each. My wife and I spent our quite perfect honeymoon there 9 years ago, and we've been back a few times more since then!

Dapitan Beach Resort Hotel (Pavilion Hotel) Sunset Boulevard, Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, Mindanao

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